Elva Ainsworth
Elva has been ringing since she was taught by her father at 12. She has rung in Amersham, London, Hertfordshire and Boston, MA, is a member of the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths and enjoyed peals until prevented by injury. Elva has been running her own IT and HR consultancy business “Talent Innovations Ltd” for twenty years and has lived in York with her family since 2018. She brings a commercial and market-focused perspective and five years’ experience of being on the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.
Graham Bradshaw
Graham learnt to ring in Cheshire in the mid 1980s and graduated from Leicester University with a degree in Economics. He subsequently qualified as Chartered Accountant and spent 14 years with EY in both Birmingham and London. Since then he has worked with Sportingbet on its £500m sale to William Hill and Addison Lee following their £450m purchase by US private equity firm Carlyle.
Graham is a member of the Ancient Society of College Youths and was Master in 2013. He joined the Board of The Ringing World in 2022.
Robert Crighton
Bob learned to ring 55 yrs ago in North Yorkshire. Service in the Royal Navy followed by a career in the law led to his ringing with a number of bands around the country, from a Devon call change band to Guildford Cathedral, where he and his wife rang for 26 yrs. Five years ago he rusticated to North Dorset and led a project to get “new” bells for the village church. An Ocean Yachtmaster, Bob is also a keen sailor with his own boat, and undertakes yacht deliveries.
Bob joined the Board in September 2020 and brings with him fourteen years of Board experience, having served as Secretary and General Counsel to the Port of London Authority and latterly as a Non-Executive Director of Harwich Haven Authority.
Gareth Davies
Gareth is a historian and writer who has had multiple careers, sometimes simultaneously, as a civil servant, primary school teacher, web designer, teacher trainer, and sheep farmer. His lifelong interest in bellringing started as a teenager in the early 1970s. Since retiring in 2014 he has become tower capatin at his local church, completed a PhD at Anglia Ruskin University, and qualified as a bird ringer. For the last thirty years he has lived with his family in a small fen-edge village north of Cambridge.
Paul Jopp (Chairman) 
Paul lives in Little Eaton, Derbyshire and is the owner of the light ring of 12 at St Oulton Campanile. Originally from Worcestershire where he learnt to ring, Paul rang his first peal at age 8 and has gone on to ring over 1200 peals including almost 400 in hand. He is a member of the Ancient Society of College Youths and has been Ringing Master at a number of towers including Derby Cathedral. Paul has recently retired having spent most of his working life in the IT industry as a Service Delivery Manager for Royal Mail, a Global Programme Director for CSC and a Regional Engineering Manager for proAV Limited.
Graham Lay
Graham has been ringing for 45 years and for most of that time has been part of the band at Tewin in Hertfordshire. He spent 35 years working in the IT Services industry, where he ultimately had responsibility for millions of pounds of revenue occupying thousands of people around the world. Since retiring in 2014 he has been able to pick up with peal ringing again. Both of his sons participated in Young@Herts teams which competed in the Ringing World National Youth Contest before they went to university. Apart from ringing Graham is frequently found backstage managing sound or lighting for the Hertford Dramatic and Operatic Society, and is also their Chairman of Trustees. He enjoys gardening and DIY tasks. Graham has read The Ringing World throughout his ringing career and appreciates how it has provided insights and commentary into the various issues that have cropped up from time to time.
Rebecca Sugden
Rebecca has been ringing since she was 11 years old, learning in York before moving to Birmingham for university and then onto London for work. She is a member of the Ancient Society of College Youths and Deputy Ringing Master at St Paul's Cathedral, where she has been ringing for services for over 20 years. Rebecca has worked in different health roles, focusing on establishing effective partnerships for policy development and implementation. Having been on the organising committee for the 2024 Ringing World National Youth Contest in London, Rebecca's role on the RW Board is to oversee the Contest's organisation and strategy.
James Watkins (Company Secretary)
James learnt to ring in Essex as a teenager in the mid-2000s. He went on to study history at Durham University where he rang with the Durham University Society and was master in 2011-2012. James was ringing master at Saffron Walden, Essex in 2014 before moving to London, and is now a member of the Ancient Society of College Youths and the St Paul's Cathedral Guild.
James is a qualified solicitor and senior associate at a magic circle law firm, where he has worked for several years advising on structured and asset-backed finance.